North America
Arlington
To Kurt Schork, war reporting was "a craft, not a holy crusade." The Reuters correspondent's death in an ambush while covering Sierra Leone's civil war last May should give pause to those who romanticize his profession-or take for granted the stories and images in the news. "War Stories," at the Newseum in Arlington, Virginia, explores the motives, risks and ethical dilemmas faced by war correspondents through artefacts (Winston Churchill's Boer War jottings), archival war footage and recordings (Edward R. Murrow's live radio broadcasts during the 1940 London Blitz) and videotaped interviews with about 40 journalists. Also featured is a memorial listing the names of 700 journalists killed while covering conflicts since the 1853 Crimean War. Through Sept. 30.
Jasper
Two centuries ago, more than 100,000 grizzly and black bears roamed North America. Since then, hunting and habitat loss have decimated that population. To encourage public understanding of the bears and generate support for research and education, the National Parks of the Canadian Rockies have proclaimed 2001 "The Year of the Great Bear." Highlights of the 500 events being held across Alberta and British Columbia include the exhibition "A Terrible Beauty," at the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum, and a six-day "Be the Bear Interpretive Trip," hosted by Blue Horizon Tours. See www.yearofthegreatbear.com.
Europe
Friedrichs-Hafen
Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's dream of a sky filled with airships was extinguished when the Hindenburg went up in flames in 1937, killing 35 people. More than a century after the first zeppelin was floated over Lake Constance, on the German-Swiss border, a new generation of airships is being launched by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik. The Friedrichshafen-based company will offer tickets for one-hour sightseeing flights across the lake from mid-June. Instead of the combustible hydrogen that doomed the first generation of airships, the 14-seat, 75-m long, 17-m high "New Technology" model is filled with inert helium. See www.zeppelin-nt.com.
Asia
Quezon City
The Philippines' economic woes are forcing many businesses to fold. But Quezon City's Guilin restaurant is so popular it has to turn people away, thanks to a unique entertainment program: aqua ballet. The restaurant's windows look out into the swimming pool of the Sulo Hotel, where, every evening, the Aqua Belles perform three sets of a 30-min. routine of flips and turns. Unlike synchronized swimmers, the Belles remain underwater, shooting to the surface only to draw breath.